The Further Adventures of Lucky Starr - Summer of Asimov II
Welcome to the second Summer of Asimov, where we'll be examining the third of the so-called Big Three Golden Age Science-Fiction authors. We've already covered the technologist Arthur C. Clarke and the political futurist Robert A. Heinlein, so now we get to the philosophical fantasist, Isaac Asimov. Covering Asimov adequately over one summer proved to be a daunting task, especially with the pandemic, so I've had to split it into two. This year, we'll mostly be covering the Foundation series, in anticipation of the hopefully-as-good-as-it-looks television series coming out later in the year (which I will of course be reviewing). So sit back, relax, and enjoy some vintage, epic science-fiction from one of the grandmasters of the genre.
Now we know where Han Solo got his pose
Going into the second half of the Lucky Starr series, I knew from Asimov's own introduction that he had, by this point, completely abandoned the "Space Ranger" thread that had been set up in the first novel. Indeed, at no point in these three books do the words "Space Ranger" ever appear and not once does anyone even mention the alien mask of Lucky's former alter ego. While I am certainly disappointed by this fact, I made peace with it before reading these books, knowing that this aspect of the series was a holdover from the television show idea that spawned it in the first place and which Asimov had only agreed to begrudgingly.
These three books, then, feel more like Asimov stories than the previous ones, especially given how they introduce robots and The Three Laws, which feature in all three. I'm a bit torn on this, because I feel like Lucky Starr was set up to explore more fun sci-fi concepts like the alien telepathy of The Oceans of Venus whereas these books all threaten to become more like the robot series instead of their own thing. However, if you can make peace with that, too--which I'll admit I still haven't done--these books are more refined than the previous ones and absolutely have a lot to offer.
Lucky Starr and the Big Sun of Mercury (first published 1956)
Lucky Starr and the Big Sun of Mercury (first published 1956)
This story does wonders with the characters and feels like a more mature work than its predecessors, though it still falls into Asimov's well-worn formula by the end. It's probably most notable for introducing robots and The Three Laws into the David Starr universe, but the robot doesn't dominate the story nor do The Three Laws prove all that pivotal in unravelling the mystery. Actually, I think it was quite clever of Asimov to have the robot be mad from literal brain damage, immediately calling into question whether The Three Laws even apply. There is a completely random and inconsequential plot development involving Mercurian lifeforms that goes nowhere, though, which I admit is a bit odd.
For me, though, the thing I love about The Big Sun of Mercury is how it fleshes out the previously one-dimensional character of Bigman Jones, who is arguably more of the protagonist this time around than Lucky is. The mystery divides itself in two, and Bigman rises to the occasion to solve one half of it almost entirely on his own, using a cunning understanding of his own character defects to develop into a fully-fledged hero rather than a hot-headed sidekick. Granted, Lucky still has to sweep in in the final chapter to unravel the rest of the story in his know-it-all fashion (and he is even a little dismissive of Bigman), but for the first time, I cared more about the little guy than the title character.
Lucky Starr and the Moons of Jupiter (first published 1957)
Lucky Starr and the Moons of Jupiter (first published 1957)
Mystery is an especially tricky genre, and I don't envy the mystery writer's need to balance how easy or hard to make his or her puzzle for the reader. With that in mind, I want to be forgiving of The Moons of Jupiter for the fact that I had solved the crux of the mystery within the first twenty or so pages. However, that isn't the only reason I find the story a little exhausting. To be honest, its biggest flaw is being boring.
Granted, it starts and ends very strong, and the bit when the sabotaged Jovian Moon is hurtling toward Jupiter is a thrilling and awesome sequence. However, the middle of the book is filled with simple recitations of orbital facts about Jupiter's moons that become mind-numbingly repetitive over time. Things can only be compared to the size of Earth's moon so much before the metaphor becomes meaningless. Also, not much happens until the third act, with Lucky Starr spending most of his time utterly helpless to figure out what to do and Bigman reduced to the one-dimensional, bumbling supporting role of earlier entries in the series. It feels like a "filler" episode, paving the way for the inevitable climax without offering much of a narrative of its own.
Lucky Starr and the Rings of Saturn (first published 1958)
Lucky Starr and the Rings of Saturn (first published 1958)
Though the previous two stories were light on action, this one is almost all action, with even the courtroom climax feeling tense and exciting. Asimov does sprinkle in little bits of mystery and intrigue, but for the most part, The Rings of Saturn doesn't follow the same formula as the previous novels, focused as it is entirely on the threat of war with the Sirians, which has been teased throughout all the previous books (except maybe the first one; I don't remember if they came up on Mars). Lucky Starr has had his fair share of tight situations to get out of, but this one is genuinely the most consequential, not only in the threat to Lucky and Bigman's lives, but also to the entire Solar System.
I do have a few nitpicks with it--for example, Asimov continues to ignore all the progress he made on the character of Bigman in The Big Sun of Mercury--but on the whole, this is an excellent way to wrap up the series. What started as a sci-fi rip-off of The Lone Ranger became an interesting mix of Sherlock Holmes and pulp sci-fi adventure, and I'm actually kind of sad that Asimov never chose to revisit Lucky Starr after this.
It feels good to get back to Asimov with these books. On one hand, I really do enjoy all three of these novels--though the middle one is a bit of a slog in parts--and I can totally get behind the idea of Sherlock Holmes in space as opposed to The Lone Ranger in space. On the other hand, the intrusion of robots still rubs me the wrong way. Don't misunderstand; I love Asimov's robots as much as the next Asimov geek, but it's kind of a clumsy crossover for me. The overriding threat of Sirius is a cool way to thread the stories together, but with the Sirians' insulated, homogenized culture and robot superiority, it all feels very similar to the Earth/spacer divide of the robot novels.
I know I said I made peace with Asimov choosing to go in a different direction, but I still wish he'd chosen a direction that didn't intersect so heavily with the other books he was writing at the time. I'm sure the big debate over Asimov's attempts to bridge his universes together will be revisited soon enough (I'm looking at you, Foundation and Earth), but in this case at least, I'm not convinced it was a good idea.
-e. magill 6/3/2021
SPECIAL THANKS TO MY PATRONS:
Chris Connell
David Murray
Diane Magill-Davis
John Burrill
Paul Kyriazi
Rich Osborne
Warren Davis
